Phlebotomist

Phlebotomists are worthy of our continual never ending thanks, respect and admiration. Not only do they perform dozens of venipunctures per day with great exactness, they are also required to juggle many other jobs.

The Phlebotomist work under the direct supervision of a physician, a medical laboratory scientist, or a lead phlebotomy technician in the clinical areas of a small annexed medical office laboratory, or in a hospital, hospital laboratory, freestanding diagnostic lab, or in a blood bank and donation center.

In our lab they perform so many jobs in fact that their official title in our organization is "Patient Service Rep". I wonder how many phlebotomists among us think that this is an appropriate title?

Some phlebotomists travel to given locations to collect blood samples; for example, they may travel from house to house to collect specimens from homebound persons. After the specimen has been collected the phlebotomist labels the collection tubes and gets them ready for transport to the lab. The samples will be analyzed to help diagnose, or monitor illness and deficiencies.
Most blood tests are performed on anticoagulants whole blood, plasma, or serum. Blood specimens must be collected in the proper collection tubes and containers and in the right order of draw. The collection tubes must also be correctly labeled and promptly transported to the laboratory. Needless to say, blood specimens should be refrigerated until placed in the courier box for transport to the laboratory.

Phlebotomists in California are heavily monitored by the state and must be licensed with the California State Medical Board in order to work as part of the allied healthcare professional team.

Phlebotomists in California have several levels of licensing. Those wishing to work in phlebotomy in California must first complete an unpaid 40-hour internship where 50 successful blood draws on patients via venipuncture and 10 finger/heel sticks must be properly performed and logged. All this must be done before entering the phlebotomy career, because California regulation mandates that you cannot work as a phlebotomist without a license. This rule also applies to medical assistants and other allied health professionals with blood drawing responsibilities in the state of California.

Worth Your Consideration When Making Career Choices: Phlebotomist

The phlebotomist, the person who draws blood samples from patients arms or finger tips, is a highly specialized, valuable member of the medical and healthcare team as a whole. Without the phlebotomist's skills and services many diagnoses and health assessments could not be as reliably performed.

Most phlebotomists have a high school education, others have an academic degree in medical technology, some received their training directly on the job under the supervision of a doctor, nurse or experienced phlebotomist, others took a phlebotomy course offered through the American Red Cross, or a community college, others while serving in the military as a combat medic or hospital corpsman role.

A skilled phlebotomist deserves high praise, yet, they are usually paid the least amount of wages on the allied health professional's pay scale, probably because their training is not as extensive as, let's say, an EKG and x-ray technician, or medical assistant. In a way, that is unfair, because there is tremendous value in their services that can never be repaid in money. Phlebotomists draw blood for tests, transfusions, donations, or research and explain the procedure to patients who ask.

They must know the circulatory system anatomy and composition of blood along with the medical terminology that goes with it, be able to access a vein, or artery, or capillary blood bed of all kinds of people from young, to old, to obese, to emaciated, to those with veins that roll, to those who easily faint, or are deadly afraid of needles.

They need to understand different venipuncture techniques and the equipment to be used to draw and preserve the blood sample. Additionally, they must know how to read laboratory requisition slips, follow doctor's orders, work safely with patients, handle blood and other potentially hazardous body fluids and know how to clean up blood spills safely and dispose them in accordance with OSHA regulations. If any of this is not approached with great care and handled properly, it can result in severe injury, if not death.

Roll Up Your Sleeves and Draw Blood (No, Not just because It's Halloween!)

Although the current unemployment rate in the United States remains high, the demand for phlebotomists continues to rise.

The job market in medicine and healthcare seems to be relatively immune to economic downturns primarily due to significant changes of rules and regulations, new discoveries and advances and the demographics of a growing and aging population.

Best Time to Become a Phlebotomist

A strong desire on the part of health insurers to focus more on preventive care and regular early medical screening has also significantly contributed to the increased need for drawing blood, which places phlebotomists in very high demand. Phlebotomists collect most of the ordered blood samples and also often perform simple blood screening tests as requested by physicians or other healthcare practitioners.

What is a Phlebotomist?

The phlebotomist is a specialized healthcare professional in the area of handling certain laboratory specimens, specifically blood and urine samples for diagnostic purposes.

• Assembles equipment, such as tourniquet, needles, blood collection devices, gauze, cotton, and alcohol on work tray, according to requirements for specified tests or procedures.
• Verifies or records identity of patient or donor and converses with patient or donor to allay fear of procedure.
• Applies tourniquet to arm, locates accessible vein, swabs puncture area with disinfectant, and inserts needle into vein to draw blood into collection tube or bag.
• Withdraws needle, applies treatment to puncture site, and labels and stores blood container for subsequent processing.
• May prick finger to draw blood. May conduct interview, take vital signs, and draw and test blood samples to screen donors at blood bank.

For more tips and insights on the phlebotomist career please visit PhlebotomyPages.com on the Internet.

Bilingual Phlebotomists Are Wanted Most

Ummm, Mrs. Hernandez, we need your blood! Does anyone in here speak Spanish? Bilingual phlebotomists are an invaluable asset to any medical office, blood donation center, or blood bank. Put "proficient in English and Spanish" on your resume and it will likely immediately land on top of the rest of submitted applications.

To learn more about the medical assisting career and what a medical assistant does please visit Medical Assistant Net on the Web.

Medical Assistants Who Want to Specialize In Phlebotomy

More and more medical assistants want to specialize in the phlebotomy field. They enjoy the direct patient interaction and simply are very good at drawing blood. Medical assisting training programs typically provide extensive phlebotomy training as part of their standard curriculum. Others are trained right on the job in the art of venipuncture and finger sticks. Furthermore, workshops and sponsored 2-5 day courses are offered in many locations everywhere. If there aren't any workshops, or on the job training opportunities offered to become a phlebotomist/phlebotomy technician in your area, you might have go the route of general health care programs that lead to the desired certificate, diploma, or degree. Click here for more details and tips about becoming a phlebotomy technologist and the many training opportunities and avenues.